Sr Technical Program Manager, ML & Robotics Platform

We’re Blue River, a team of innovators driven to create intelligent machinery that solves monumental problems for our customers. We empower our customers – farmers, construction crews, and foresters - to implement safer and more sustainable solutions, driving increased profitability with less reliance on scarce labor. We believe that focusing on the small stuff – pixel-by-pixel and task-by-task - leads to big gains. 

Blue River Technology aligns with John Deere’s vision to “innovate on behalf of humanity” by quickly identifying and solving high-value, high-uncertainty challenges in AI, machine learning, computer vision, and robotics. BRT acts as a research and development flywheel, building not only new products but also new platforms that reliably create value for both Deere and its customers. From fully autonomous machines to highly precise farming equipment, BRT and Deere are partnering to create technical breakthroughs in industries like agriculture and construction. 

Our people are at the heart of what we do. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, this mission-driven team is eager to define the new frontier of robotics. We are always asking hard questions, rapidly iterating, and getting our boots in the field to figure it out. We won’t give up until we’ve made a tangible and positive impact on the planet!

Blue River Technology is based in Santa Clara, CA. 

 

Summary

We are seeking a highly technical, collaborative Senior Technical Program Manager (TPM) to guide the evolution of our core technology platforms. This team is responsible for building the robotics engineering foundations that enable our autonomy and automation programs to build, train, and operate intelligent machines at scale. In this role, you will connect advanced machine learning with scalable infrastructure. We value thoughtful program ownership and trajectory facilitation over passive administration or information brokerage. The ideal candidate is energetic and ready to learn quickly, thrives in highly collaborative spaces, and is ready to operate as a deep owner of high-impact program outcomes.

• Employment Type: Full-Time
• Work Location: Remote in the United States
• Visa sponsorship is possible for this position. 

Job Responsibilities

A combination, not necessarily all-inclusive, of the following:

• Serve as the outcome and domain owner for a portfolio of technical programs; be prepared to bootstrap ambitious, ambiguous, large-scale strategic initiatives into clear, structured execution paths.
• Weave complex, cross-organizational interdependencies into a singular, harmonious program strategy that unifies diverse engineering groups.
• Evangelize the program's strategy across the core platform engineering teams and the robotics programs that use our foundational tooling. 
• Replace administrative status updates with an authoritative, bottom-up framework that clearly articulates milestones, sequences, and critical paths to executive leadership.
• Act as a high-velocity roadblock smasher, using your program tooling to identify engineering bottlenecks and re-chart course as necessary to guarantee high-quality, on-time program delivery.
• Build the connective tissue between cross-functional groups, ensuring deep understanding, operational symmetry, and goal alignment across teams.
• Shape and contribute deeply to strategic roadmaps for developing our robotics platform.
• Work cross-functionally to develop best practices and development processes in a dynamic environment, driving impact through the deployment of key initiatives and garnering adoption of those processes.

Required Experience and Skills

• At least 7+ years of experience driving complex, cross-functional technical programs.
• Strong track record of building alignment across diverse technical teams without formal authority. 
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex architectural concepts into clear, actionable program milestones.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering or related technical discipline; or equivalent practical experience.
• Proficiency with agile project management tools such as Jira and Confluence. 
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with large-scale systems. 
• Excellent communication, time management, and prioritization skills.
• Systems design or technical architecture experience, with the ability to understand and contribute to high-level system design discussions.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Background in machine learning, computer vision, and/or robotics.
• Experience managing data science, machine learning, computer vision, robotics, or autonomy programs.
• Experience with cloud-based full-stack engineering development, including frontend, backend, and infrastructure.

 

At Blue River, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. For this position, the reasonably expected pay range is between $133,000 - $238,000/year for the level at which this job has been scoped. Your base pay will depend on several factors, including your experience, qualifications, education, location, and skills. This position is also eligible for an annual performance bonus and a competitive benefit package. During the recruitment process, we may identify an alternative role or level to which you are more suited. If your ideal role at Blue River differs from the advertised position, we will provide an updated pay range as soon as possible during the hiring process.

We’re passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. While we have more work to do to advance diversity and inclusion, we’re investing in our programs, including recruiting, mentorship, career development, and learning & development, to ensure they support our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals. We support each employee in living a full life, enabling a thriving career, and accomplishing a meaningful, challenging mission while collaborating with incredible people. We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align completely with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway.

We are an equal-opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request an accommodation.